jenn air 720-0141-lp - will not heat

Forum members and viewers, I apologize ahead of time if this topic has been thoroughly covered. Perhaps someone can point me to a thread that has the answers, if so.

We bought a home with an outdoor kitchen. It has a Jenn Air 720-0141-LP installed. It's a great looking grill, and we love to use it. But I had a really hard time getting this thing over 400 degrees.

I have done the following:

-replaced the regulator twice (with ones from lowe's).
-reset the regulator
-cleaned out the burners
-used multiple blue rhino tanks
-made sure that there are no 'kinks' in the regulator hose.

The grill still struggles, and I mean STRUGGLES.... to get to 400 degrees to cook a burger.

Grill Services told me that I need to purchase a special regulator for this grill from Sure Source. Does anyone know if this is a higher-flow regulator that they're referring to?

2 other thoughts -
I thought I read somewhere where the propane flow could be increased via the regulator, by turning some screw or other adjustable part. Is this correct? If so, is there detailed instructions somewhere? I really need details. I'm not all that handy.

And, there seems to be a ton of heat escaping from the rear of the grill. I know that since it's installed in a kitchen, that this is probably intentional...but is there a part that would obstruct even just a bit of the heat going out? There's a one to two inch gap in the back along with a bunch of smaller vents.

Frankly that grill (and many like it) are bought more for "looks" than "cooks". But there are some things you can do. Make sure your burners are clean in and out (you may need to flush them out and blow them dry) due to spiders and other critters. Look at the method used to reset the regulator. Turn off grill and tank. Than s l o w l y open the tank valve. Than try relighting grill. Failing to do that will trip the regulator or tank OP valve. Failing that you can try a new regulator (they are pretty much the same) and can be bought from places like Home Depot.
Failing all this you may find yourself gravitating toward a grill built for quality rather than looks.
Good luck and BTW there is a specific Jenn Air forum.

There are two problems with that grill which is similar to the 2004-2005 4 and 5 burner JA cart grills--the huge gap at the top of the hood lets too much heat out, and the 12k burners are too weak. You have a couple of options on how to increase the heat--either reduce the size of the gap or drill your orifices to a larger diameter. Before you decide to try either suggestions, make sure that your setup allows you to safely modify your grill without the risk of overheating the enclosure. Good luck.

Underthehood, thanks for the response. Yes, it's a nice-looking grill...the looks are deceiving on this one!

I'll do another reset and clean the burners. May just eventually buy a different grill. Sure hate to go that route, but a man's gotta be able to do some cooking in the backyard.

For what it's worth, my grandpa had a cheap, walmart-special grill that'd get to 550 degrees in a hurry.

Thanks again,

Frankly that grill (and many like it) are bought more for "looks" than "cooks". But there are some things you can do. Make sure your burners are clean in and out (you may need to flush them out and blow them dry) due to spiders and other critters. Look at the method used to reset the regulator. Turn off grill and tank. Than s l o w l y open the tank valve. Than try relighting grill. Failing to do that will trip the regulator or tank OP valve. Failing that you can try a new regulator (they are pretty much the same) and can be bought from places like Home Depot. Failing all this you may find yourself gravitating toward a grill built for quality rather than looks. Good luck and BTW there is a specific Jenn Air forum.

There are two problems with that grill which is similar to the 2004-2005 4 and 5 burner JA cart grills--the huge gap at the top of the hood lets too much heat out, and the 12k burners are too weak. You have a couple of options on how to increase the heat--either reduce the size of the gap or drill your orifices to a larger diameter. Before you decide to try either suggestions, make sure that your setup allows you to safely modify your grill without the risk of overheating the enclosure. Good luck.

RonG, thanks for replying. Yeah, that gap is pretty big in the back. You mentioned that the burners are too weak, and possibly drilling to allow more gas to flow through. This outdoor counter/kitchen has a lot of mesh venting around it. It seems to have good ventilation (if that's what you mean by having a safe setup). Narrowing the gap seems like it would be better, in the sense that I wouldn't use as much gas as I would widening the burner holes. However, modifying the burners seems more doable than modifying the hood.

RonG, thanks for replying. Yeah, that gap is pretty big in the back. You mentioned that the burners are too weak, and possibly drilling to allow more gas to flow through. This outdoor counter/kitchen has a lot of mesh venting around it. It seems to have good ventilation (if that's what you mean by having a safe setup). Narrowing the gap seems like it would be better, in the sense that I wouldn't use as much gas as I would widening the burner holes. However, modifying the burners seems more doable than modifying the hood.

Thank you for the suggestions!

Oakley,

You don't modify the burners at all, you would drill the 4 orifices larger to increase the btu's. To enlarge the orifices, you need to remove the burners and then unscrew the brass orifices which are located where the burners fit at the front of the grill. It is easy to do, and makes a big difference. There are drill bits which are specifically sized to correspond to a certain btu rating. Good luck.

You don't modify the burners at all, you would drill the 4 orifices larger to increase the btu's. To enlarge the orifices, you need to remove the burners and then unscrew the brass orifices which are located where the burners fit at the front of the grill. It is easy to do, and makes a big difference. There are drill bits which are specifically sized to correspond to a certain btu rating. Good luck.

Excellent! I am going to seriously look into this.

Quick question - is drilling out the orifices/increasing the btu's going to adversely effect how much gas I use? If so, then closing off or restricting the heat escaping from the rear may be more appealing.

Quick question - is drilling out the orifices/increasing the btu's going to adversely effect how much gas I use? If so, then closing off or restricting the heat escaping from the rear may be more appealing.

Thank you!

I would be EXTREMELY careful here. A grill (even a poorly made/designed one) is designed with a certain ability to accept heat. So just keep in mind either way you go could turn in to a disaster rather than a grill that doesn't seem to get hot enough.